Three people have been arrested for the alleged murders of two siblings who died when a large rock was thrown at their moving vehicle from an overhead bridge in Tongaat, north of Durban, last year, police said on Wednesday evening.

Police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said the suspects, aged between 20 and 46, would appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

They face two counts of murder and one of attempted murder after a 7-year-old boy and his sister died and their father sustained injuries in the incident that occurred on the night of December 27, 2017, when the trio was travelling on the N2 highway between Tongaat and Ballito.

A big boulder was thrown onto their vehicle from the Tongaat bridge, said Mbele.

“A case of murder was opened at Tongaat police station and was assigned to the provincial detectives for investigation. Extensive police investigation led to the arrest of the three suspects,” she said.

There have been several rock-throwing incidents along the province’s highways since December 2017, especially on the N2 from Durban to the north of the province.

In another incident in January, a motorist was taken to hospital when a huge rock was allegedly thrown onto his car, also from an overhead bridge on the N2 between Ballito and Tongaat, north of Durban.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane said at the time that police had identified the overhead bridge between Ballito and Tongaat as a rock-throwing hotspot.